Royal Air Maroc Economy Class Review: AT955 (RAM955) Milan (MXP) to Casablanca (CMN) (2024)
Royal Air Maroc has been busy working on itself. Since joining the oneworld alliance in 2020, the airline is expanding its fleet, building new routes, and aggressively improving its soft product. Is the flag carrier of Morocco ready for the big leagues?
Interior of Royal Air Maroc Boeing 373-800. Image: Benjamin Schmidt.
Royal Air Maroc Economy Class Review: AT955 (RAM955) Milan (MXP) to Casablanca (CMN) (2024)
Highs: Full meal service with Morocco’s signature tea despite a fairly short flight. Lived-in seats. Efficient boarding. Access to oneworld alliance. Free checked luggage, even for the base fare.
Lows: Incredibly sudden landing that felt like an emergency. The lack of air conditioning when parked and taxiing made for a very hot and uncomfortable ground experience. Seatback pocket was torn, thus couldn’t hold anything.
Verdict: With lots of extras included in the fare, Royal Air Maroc is slightly above global standard for intercontinental service and it is certainly the best way to get to Morocco.
Context: Royal Air Maroc Airlines Economy Class Review
I was looking for an economical way to get to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. Morocco is already a popular destination with Europeans, but major investment has put it on the map of in-the-know Americans. Having just hosted the likes of Ayra Starr, Jannat, and Nicki Minaj at the major Festival Mawazine, the country has hosted countless international events, cultural moments, and it has the evergreen attractions of Fes and Marrakech.
Now, Morocco is preparing for what may be its biggest moment yet: co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2030 along with Spain and Portugal. In anticipation, the national carrier has been ramping up fleets, routes, and service quality to shuttle in guests.
I booked a trip through Milan’s Malpensa Airport, where Royal Air Maroc maintains a direct flight to Casablanca, Morocco. As always, I wanted the cheapest economy class fare that included checked luggage.
Google Flights, Why am I being routed to Casablanca (cmn) if I want to go to Rabat (rba)?
If you’re looking for flights to Rabat (RBN) on Google Flights, you’ll notice many flights route to Casablanca (CMN). Getting from Casablanca to Rabat takes about 1 hour 20 minutes by car. If you’re and taxis generally charge a flat rate of $67 USD (
Royal Air Maroc Fare Classes
The fare classes for Royal Air Maroc are broken into Economy and Business fare types, and both of those are broken into three subclasses. Within Economy Class, travelers must choose between Eco Classic, Eco Flex or Eco Serenity.
Fortunately, all classes and fare types include checked luggage, including the most basic economy option, Eco Classic. The biggest differentiator between fare classes seems to focus on changes and refunds. If you need flexibility with rescheduling and canceling, you must, at the very least, buy an Eco Flex fare, one step up from the cheapest Eco Classic fare. Despite the checked luggage allowance, Eco Classic offers absolutely no refunds on cancellations and you cannot make changes. Seat selection is also not free at this fare.
Good to know
All fare classes on Royal Air Maroc (including the most basic Economy fare) include at least one checked bags for free, up to 23kg or about 50lbs.
If you really need an additional checked bag after the first one, it will cost at least $60, depending on destination, weight, and when you pay for that checked bag.
Is Royal Air Maroc part of any alliance?
As of June 2024, Royal Air Maroc is a member of oneworld alliance, along with airlines such as American Airlines, Royal Jordanian, and British Airways. Depending on your oneworld status, you will also have equivalent status in Royal Air Maroc’s frequent flier program, Safar Flyer. Depending on your status, you can receive perks like priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, and worldwide lounge access with some restrictions. I used my American Airlines AAdvantage number at check out, so my points went directly to American Airlines.
Ticket price: $497.20, paid with Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. This is a relatively high price for this ticket, due to the purchase being made in proximity to the departure date. The price is for a round-trip ticket, CMN-MXP. It is an “Y” class fare.
GOOD TO KNOW
If you are in Morocco and making a flight purchase on Royal Air Maroc’s website, your transaction must be conducted in MAD currency (meaning you need to have a Moroccan-issued credit or bank card). If you encounter errors on the website, use the app.
Points accrual:
This segment: 606 AAdvantage base miles plus 243 bonus miles from status, for a total of 849 AAdvantage miles.
Total segments/boardings for the entire itinerary: 2
Royal Air Maroc Airport Arrival and Check-in, Security, and Preflight at MXP Terminal 1
I took public transit to Milan’s Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi". It is accessible by car/taxi, but the most economical option is the Malpensa Express train, operated by Trenord. The train serves all terminals and departs almost hourly from Milan’s central train station. My travel time was about an hour. The cost for the train was about $15.00.
Royal Air Maroc has a well-organized and large check-in area. Signage is plentiful, guiding you to the check-in desks. I had one piece of luggage to check. Royal Air Maroc check-in technically closes 40 minutes prior to departure, but if you have checked luggage, arrive an hour early.
Royal Air Maroc check-in desks at Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). Image: Benjamin Schmidt
Paper ticket for a Royal Air Maroc Flight. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
The check-in process was simple and quick. For international flights like this, you must check in about an hour before departure, especially with luggage. MXP is a big airport, so give yourself time to move through it.
While Royal Air Maroc is working hard to improve its digital experiences (in fact, its app is better than the website when it comes to buying tickets), I still had to use a paper ticket for boarding. Unlike many airlines, which let you store digital tickets, there is minimal Apple wallet support.
Once I was checked-in and through security, I went to the gate. MXP is nicely organized, with a large duty-free area, and lots of comfortable cafes and restaurants. However, the gate is far away from amenities, so be sure to stock up in the main area.
Royal Air Maroc boarding groups had no organization. Image: Benjamin Schmidt.
At boarding time, it was almost impossible to hear any gate announcements as two flights were boarding at the exact same time. In respect to group boarding, it was impossible to know which groups were being called to which flight. In the Italian tradition, I joined the mob of people and slipped into line. Despite the lack of organization, boarding was efficient and the gate staff were polite.
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 Business Class Interior. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
Upon boarding, we passed through a lived-in business class with its eggplant-toned seats and entered a vast economy class. This Boeing 737-800 had 12 business class seats and approximately 147 economy class seats.
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 Economy Class Interior and Seat
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 Economy Class Interior. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
With a purple, tan, and red color scheme through the cabin, Royal Air Maroc’s interior design is contemporary and a warm reflection of Moroccan style. However, the interior is clearly well-used.
These Boeing 737’s are the workhorses of the fleet, making up the bulk of Royal Air Maroc’s aircraft holdings and supporting a vast number of regular routes. Intended to be durable, these aircrafts are clean and quiet, but gaps in maintenance are noticeable. For example, the seat-back pocket was torn at several seats, rendering them useless. The seats also had old-school radio channels, but the type of headphones needed are practically obsolete.
A search of the tail number revealed this Boeing 737-300ER to be about 15 years old, and it certainly showed. However, Royal Air Maroc is working hard to update the fleet, including receiving all-new 737s. Getting a newer 737 with the refreshed interior is simply a matter of luck. In the meantime, its a gamble.
Despite a 3-3 layout, the middle seat isn’t a bad place to be in Royal Air Maroc’s economy class. The leg space is actually quite plentiful and the seat is of average width, suitable for people with average builds. However, as boarding concluded, I was offered to relocate to an aisle seat without a middle seat mate and I accepted the invitation.
Overhead storage was plentiful across all classes and I had no issues finding space to store my items even with the flight mostly full.
At my seat I found a only a safety card and a duty free magazine.
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 Economy Class Seat. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
The seats are well-cushioned, but do not have an adjustable headrest. The seat has an individual reading light, recline function, and movable arm rests (including the aisle seats!) but not much else. There is no power, and there is no individual IFE.
Lavatory aboard Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
There were three lavatories serving this cabin, but I did not wait to use them. The lavatories were kept in reasonable condition through the flight.
The cabin lighting was outdated- simple and unnatural. Temperature-wise, the plane was extremely warm with stale air. A few passengers expressed concern the air conditioning might have been broken. Eventually, the air conditioning was turned on and the plane was a comfortable temperature for the rest of the flight.
Crew Experience and Meal Service in Royal Air Maroc Economy Class
While the aircraft is clearly well-used, Royal Air Maroc’s crew and service is fresh and friendly. Wearing clean and elegant uniforms in purple tones, the staff was helpful and efficient. From check-in to boarding, everyone had a smile and real sense of responsibility to make the experience pleasant for everyone.
The crew was primarily Moroccan, and all announcements were made in Arabic and French, with occasional English announcements. There wasn’t much interaction with the staff during the flight, beyond the safety briefing and meal service. The staff didn’t actively make conversation with passengers— instead they were focused on serving a full meal on a three hour flight (an aspect of economy class that is practically unheard of in the United States, Royal Air Maroc serves a hot meal on flights over two and a half hours).
The pilot did not speak over the intercom at any interval. We took off on time and the in-flight service began around an hour into the flight (a duration of about 3 hours 10 minutes).
All standard economy passengers enjoy the standard menu which includes a hot meal (with preordering of special meals available) and refreshment.
Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 Meal. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
The food was very warm and I enjoyed my marinated meat with peas, yogurt and bread. The food wasn’t extraordinary, but it was certainly edible and filling. But, coming from the stingy US economy experience, I was impressed to have any food at all.
Does Royal Air Maroc serve alcohol on flights?
Yes. Royal Air Maroc offers a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
The meal came with slightly less plastic and waste than most economy class meals, but I still found it frustrating the bread was pre-packaged, limited some of the environmental benefit.
Good to know
All passengers in all economy fares enjoy a standard meal and snack on Royal Air Maroc flights of over two and a half hours.
Tea in Economy Class on Royal Air Maroc. Image: Benjamin Schmidt.
After lunch, I had some tea and a bite of chocolate before listening to some music. I appreciated the solemnity of the tea service and simplicity of the desert.
Tech, WiFi AND IFE in Royal Air Maroc Economy Class
Pack your iPads and books because, simply put, there are no personal IFE on this old Boeing 737 aircraft. And it turns out, the newer ones don’t either (but they do get WiFi). Instead, direct your attention to the front of the plane, where a series of drop-down screens present the progress of the flight route and some other information on a fairly small screen. Given the brief nature of the flight, the individual IFE isn’t a must-have. Fortunately, Royal Air Maroc’s flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner does have IFE at every seat.
IFE aboard Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 . Image: Benjamin Schmidt
But, if you’re interested, the live flight tracking and map is very dynamic and offers a wide range of information and its on a constant loop. There was no WiFi on this flight, but Royal Air Maroc offers access to Sky Press, where you can download two newspapers for browsing, starting from 24 hours before your flight. On flights with WiFi enabled, passengers can use Royal Air Maroc’s entertainment network, Sky RAM, to explore films, games, and more from their person device.
Sleep and Comfort in Royal Air Maroc Economy Class
I found this flight comfortable (once the air conditioning was turned on). And while they might not look beautiful, the couch-cushion economy class seat on Royal Air Maroc is a dying type— sumptuous and deep. Given this was a midday flight going north to south, I didn’t sleep. Some children played in the aisles, but this didn’t bother me.
Landing and Conclusion
In the last third of the flight, turbulence increased significantly. And as we began to make the descent into Casablanca, the turbulence got worse. The rapid rate of descent was startling on its own, and paired with the turbulence, it was downright scary. At one point I wondered if it was some type of emergency landing. It became clear the pilot had to make a decision to get out of the turbulence as quickly as possible while also maintaining the flight path, resulting in the unsettling period. After recovering, the landing itself was relatively smooth.
Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) baggage claim. Image: Benjamin Schmidt
The experience of this economy class was comfortable despite the heart-stopping descent. Past reviews have stated that Royal Air Maroc has mishandled or lost luggage, but we couldn’t replicate this experience. At Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport, screens displayed oddly-specific baggage-arrival times, and the luggage was indeed delivered near the window— only about ten minutes behind schedule.
Supported by excellent staff and a quickly-improving digital experience, Royal Air Maroc has a strong soft product. So long as the airline expands its fleet with new aircraft and continues to update existing aircraft, Royal Air Maroc should have no issue handling the swell of travelers experiencing Morocco for the first time.
Learn more and book flights at https://www.royalairmaroc.com/us-en.
